There was no escaping the attention.
For a player that does not seek it, Michael Mayer had no choice but to embrace it.
So, there he was, listening to the public address announcer at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas recite his latest accomplishment.
“I wasn’t aware,” Mayer said. “I went back and sat on the bench and saw me up on the screen. Then, I heard they kind of announced it.”
In Notre Dame’s 28-20 win over No. 16 BYU (4-2) on Saturday night, two records that stood in the way of Mayer came crashing down.
The one that earned the recognition in front of a crowd of 62,742 honored him for breaking the program’s career tight end receptions record. In doing so, Mayer eclipsed former first-round draft pick Tyler Eifert and now totals 146 in his Notre Dame career.
“I'm very, very grateful,” he said. “I've been around a ton of good football coaches, a ton of good football players that have gotten me to this point — atarting in fifth grade, really. I'm just very, very grateful. Tremendous people here at the University of Notre Dame have got me to this point.”
Mayer finished the game with 11 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. His 11 catches broke a team record he previously shared for the number of receptions in a game. And Notre Dame (3-2) needed each one to find its offensive stride against the Cougars (4-2).
To start the game, quarterback Drew Pyne relied on Mayer, completing five of his first six passes to the junior tight end. He targeted Mayer on another two occasions during that span, and in total, 15 times. Eleven of Pyne’s 22 completions ended up in the 6-foot-5, 265-pound tight end’s hands.
"He's kind of uncoverable,” Pyne said. “First of all, coach (offensive coordinator Tommy) Rees gets Mike in such an unbelievable position to go ahead and succeed. And I know Mike absolutely dominates whoever's in front of them. For me, having such a great O-line and being able to find Mike a couple of times today were unbelievable and big moments.
“That adds so much to our offense. He's an unbelievable player, my best friend. That's really cool to be out there with Mike, and I'm happy he is on our team."
When Pyne connected with Mayer for his second touchdown reception, it put him just one score away from tying Ken MacAfee for first-all time among Irish tight ends. Mayer’s 116 receiving yards left him 120 yards away from matching MacAfee for second all-time in tight end career receiving yards.
Mayer already owns the single-season records for receptions (71), receiving yards (840) and touchdown receptions (7). Besides the career touchdown reception and receiving yards records, the only other one left to obtain is the game receiving yards mark. Kyle Rudolph has that distinction with 164 yards.
Even though there are few records left for him to achieve, Mayer’s best football is still ahead of him, according to head coach Marcus Freeman,
“He is a special football player,” the coach said. “But the thing you love about Michael Mayer is that he's the hardest worker. And when your best player is your hardest worker, you know what? That's the greatest example you can have for young guys and your entire team.
“I'm just going to continue to push him to continue to be the hardest worker we have. (Tight ends) coach (Gerad) Parker, coach Rees have done a great job of still developing him. He's not a finished product, and that's tough to say (about) a guy that holds probably every record at Notre Dame for tight ends.
“He's not a finished product, but he understands that he wants to push. That's the thing about Michael Mayer. He's one of those great ones that doesn't want to be told what he does well. 'Tell me how to improve.' That's what makes him special.”
Pyne steadily improving each week
Things looked much different for Pyne a month ago than it does now.
In early September, he was a backup quarterback, still preparing like a starter but unlikely to be thrust into action unless it was needed. As it turned out, his services were required much sooner than anyone could have hoped.
After replacing injured Tyler Buchner late in week two in a loss to Marshall, Pyne has gone 3-0 as a starter and improved in each victory. Saturday, Pyne completed 22 of 28 passes for a season-high 78.6%. That number is up about 5% from the California game and about 8% better than against North Carolina.
To describe the improvement, Pyne credited a culmination of factors.
"I think it's just preparation and taking every single practice like a game and just preparing really hard,” Pyne said. “But also, something that all of you guys saw during the Cal game was all my teammates coming up to me when I was down. When I wasn't succeeding, every single player on the team — offense, defense, special teams — so many guys came up to me and had my back.
“Honestly, the reason I'm so comfortable out there is because I love each and every one of the guys that I'm on the field with. They're all my best friends. And that just makes me really comfortable to go operate."
As an offense, Notre Dame has improved, too. Perhaps most recognizably on third down.
In Pyne’s first start, the Irish were 3-12 (25%) in converting on third down. Against North Carolina, they finished 6-14 (42.9%) in that same category. Saturday, they converted 11-16 (68.8%). That uptick also required various components.
“I think it's just kind of my mentality going into each and every game,” Pyne said. “Being prepared and being ready. Coach Rees really, really values third down.”
And that improvement has happened in lockstep between Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator and starting quarterback.
“I'll tell you what, like in the past two weeks, three weeks, I felt like coach Rees and I are on the same exact page,” Pyne said. “And I think that's a credit to him for getting us ready and really focusing on third down. That's a big component of how he calls the game, And we're going to continue to do that."
On the mend
Notre Dame was without starting defensive tackle Howard Cross III. After the game, Freeman said Cross that suffered a high-ankle sprain in practice earlier this week. The 6-1, 276-pound junior did not feel comfortable contributing against BYU after testing his ankle in pregame warmups.
Cross was second on the team with 23 tackles going into the game. Key backup Jacob Lacey opted out of the rest of the season and submitted his name to the transfer portal just a few days ago.
Harvard grad transfer Chris Smith stepped up in Cross’ place, making his first start with the Irish. Smith registered two tackles (one solo). Sophomore Gabe Rubio also aided in spots with two tackles and 0.5 tackle for loss.
Hash Marks
- Notre Dame is now 11-0 all-time in Shamrock Series games. By beating No. 16 BYU, the Irish have taken down four ranked opponents (also No. 22 Arizona State in 2013, No. 12 Syracuse in 2018 and No. 18 Wisconsin in 2021). The Shamrock Series began in 2009.
- The Irish improved to 7-2 all-time against BYU in a series that dates back to 1992. Notre Dame has won the last four games, going back to 2005. Saturday was the first time the two teams met at a neutral site.
- Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, is 3-0 against the Cougars. His first win against them came in a 17-14 victory in 2012. The next year, he beat BYU 23-13. Both games were at Notre Dame Stadium. Saturday night's win came in the role of offensive coordinator/QBs coach.
- Several players moved up in the Notre Dame record books in career games played. Senior linebacker Bo Bauer has appeared in the most among current players. His 55 games rank tied for second all-time with Jonathan Doerer.
Check out where other active players rank below.
- Sophomore tight end Davis Sherwood made his first career start.
- Senior safety Houston Griffith and Bauer started their first games of the season.
- Freshman tight end Holden Staes notched his first career reception. His grab went for 11 yards on a third down, which extended Notre Dame’s final second-quarter scoring drive.
- Sophomore wide receiver Jayden Thomas capped off the scoring drive with a 30-yard touchdown, the first of his career.
- There were just two penalties the entire game. Josh Lugg was flagged with holding on the final drive for Notre Dame’s only one.
- Representatives from the NFL's Broncos, Jaguars and Chargers attended the game.
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